BABYFACE: AN Artio ALBUM REVIEW

Posted 01.04.2024

1 March 2024 • Alternative/Rock • 11 songs • 33 minutes •  2024 Slam Dunk Records 

★★★★★

FAV SINGLE: Babyface/Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger

TOP 3 : You Set My Home On Fire • Temple • You’re Not My Home

Artio released their debut album this month and it’s hard to remember that they’re still newcomers to the industry. I love how they aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said, they are unapologetically themselves and it's hard not to praise them for it. The Leeds-based band have a very distinct sound, even their more stripped-back songs suit them perfectly. Not just their sound overall but their front person, Rae, has such a unique set of vocals that they aren’t afraid to use - their powerful vocals drive the album to become the masterpiece that it is and are enhanced by genius instrumentation throughout. 

I've been a fan of this band since the release of their ‘Pyrokid’ EP last May, so I've been following them from start to finish for this whole album cycle and they’ve nailed it. The first single, ‘Sertraline’, was released last July and was a collaboration with (also) Leeds-based non-binary artist, STRAIGHT GIRL and it really set the tone for the whole album. A call-out to governments, especially here in the UK, not giving out correct mental health support to the future generations and not focusing on who they should be. Following this, both ‘Wallflower’ and ‘Head in the sand, finger on the trigger ft. FLASCH’ were released in late 2023 before the title track ‘Babyface’ alongside the album announcement in January. Quite a few songs on the records say a lot more once you listen again properly to the lyrics - not only are these sonically pleasing, but they say so much more. Such as the latest two singles, which centre around the trans identity in today’s society and what it means to be queer in such an unfriendly environment that criminalises the whole community for just simply existing. 

The overall production of the album is amazing. Some tracks effortlessly blend into each other but when anyone who knows anything about music production knows it wasn’t effortless at all! Especially, in ‘I’m So Sorry’ where it brings in elements of the next song, ‘Wallflower’ towards the end. The sheer ingenuity of bringing Wallflower’s chorus vocals as distant backing vocals that lead into an outro that then directly and effortlessly blends into the wallflower intro so much so that you can hardly tell exactly where the cutoff between songs is absolutely ingenuous. It shocked me so much I had to pause the music to get over it before continuing listening. My favourite song production-wise has to be ‘You’re Not My Home’. It’s a simple, stripped back acoustic guitar song that isn’t heavy on instrumentation , instead using effects such as heavy reverb and echo as well as distortion to add dynamics & depth to a beautiful set of lyrics, making an electro-rock masterpiece. (okay production appreciation rant over) 

This is honestly the first time in a while where I’ve genuinely had trouble narrowing down my favourite tracks - they’re all so good!

The band have plans to play Slam Dunk later this year on the same stage as some of my other favourite bands such as Honey Revenge & Pale Waves as well as opening for Honey Revenge for a few shows beforehand, but should they announce a headline tour anytime soon, I’ll definitely be there.